The combined 'extreme' environments of high pressure, temperature, and strain rates, encountered under shock loading, offer enormous potential for the discovery of new paradigms in chemical reactivity not possible under more benign conditions. All organic materials are expected to react under these conditions, yet we currently understand very little about the first bond-breaking steps behind the shock front, such as in the shock initiation of explosives, or shock-induced reactivity of other relevant materials. Here, I will present recent experimental results of shock-induced chemistry in a variety of organic materials under sustained shock conditions. A comparison between the reactivity of different structures is given, and a perspective on the kinetics of reaction completion under shock drives.

This volume is concerned primarily with the chemical and physical effects of shock waves on typical materials. It compares naturally occurring materials with similar materials produced by shock compression in the laboratory, providing clues about the environment and events that produced the natural materials.

In order to examine the potential of wing shock waves for Promoting chemical changes in organic contaminants dispersed in geologic media, as a prelude to the development of a novel in-situ remediation technology, laboratory experiments were carried out on synthetic soil matrices containing controlled amounts of chemical impurities. Samples were subjected to peak stresses in the gigapascal range in the Shock Dynamics Center's specially designed gas gun facilities, and recovered. Chemical analyses of the recovered shocked samples through various spectroscopic techniques showed significant amounts of chemical conversion. More specifically, in research investigations spread over a 12 month period, six organic compounds. including some examples of typical soil contaminants (acrylamide (AA), benzonitrile (BN), diphenylacetylene (DPA), nitrobenzene (NB). pbenylacetylene (PA), and tetrachloroethylene (TCE)) were studied. These compounds were individually dispersed in Ottawa sand at an upper-limit concentration of 10 wt. % and subjected to shock pulses of approximately 10 GPa in amplitude and 2-3 microsecs in time duration. The shock treated samples were recovered and analyzed. It was concluded that under the chosen shock conditions, AA, TCE, and PA underwent shock-induced polymerization while NB underwent decomposition. In addition, based on the intermediates and products formed, it was possible to formulate mechanistic pathways leading to their formation. It was also concluded that, in the case of BN and DPA, more research was needed in order to bring about any measurable chemical conversion.

High-Pressure Chemistry and Physics of Polymers is devoted to covering all areas of high-pressure polymer materials science. Topics addressed include the synthesis of polymers, changes in reactivity, structural transformations, molecular dynamics, relaxation processes, deformational properties, chemical modification, and the effect of shock waves and shear stresses. The authors' contributions reflect over 60 years of Soviet study in the field of physico-chemistry conducted at the major former Soviet Institutes of Chemical Physics, Organic Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry. Fundamental topics such as compressibility of polymers, polymerization under pressure, viscoelastic/deformational properties, and polymer modification are discussed with an eye toward materials development for improving physical models and methods of calculating the changing parameters of materials under pressure. The book is a valuable reference to data on mechanisms of physical and chemical processes, in addition to new experimental data for improving physical models and methods of calculating changes in material characteristics under compression loads. High-Pressure Chemistry and Physics of Polymers will be an important reference for graduate students and practicing professionals in polymer chemistry and polymeric materials.